Building muscle is not an easy activity. It can seem thankless as well, since you can’t do it quickly. For this reason it is important to know you are using the correct techniques to maximize and build muscle. This article will introduce you to some solid basics that can help you to do just that.

To increase muscle mass in the most efficient way possible, you need to warm up before each and every workout. When your muscles become stronger, they’ll experience lots of additional stress making them susceptible to injury. Warming up is the best way to prevent these injuries. Before you lift anything heavy, do 5-10 minutes of light cardio, followed by a few light or intermediate sets of your regular exercises.

Put all of the “big three” in each routine you perform. These bulk-building exercises include squats, bench presses and dead lifts. These particular exercises not only increase your bulk, but they also ensure your body is well conditioned and help improve your overall strength as well. Incorporate a variation of exercises like this in your workouts regularly.

Making sure that you are getting a lot of protein will help you build a lot of muscle. Protein shakes are a great way to get in your daily protein. Take these before going to bed, as well as after your workouts for best results. If you want to shed pounds while building muscle, have one serving a day. If you are trying to achieve increased muscle mass, you should drink up to three every day.

Don’t allow your workouts to exceed one hour in duration. After 60 minutes of exercise, your body starts to produce more of the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol blocks testosterone, which can ruin your muscle gaining efforts. Making sure workouts don’t go over one hour is the perfect way to optimize your fitness plan.

After exercising it is vital to stretch, so that your muscles can build and repair themselves well. Anyone that is under forty years old needs to make sure that each stretch is held for a minimum of thirty seconds. People who are over the age of 40 should hold stretches for a minimum of 60 seconds. This helps to lessen the chance of injury after you have just worked out.

It is possible to create the impression that you are larger than you may actually be. You can achieve this by focusing your training efforts on your chest, shoulders and upper back. This makes your upper body look bigger in proportion to your waist, which gives the illusion that you have a larger body.

Having a strict schedule for your workouts will prevent injuries and help you gain muscle. You shouldn’t work out more than three times per week. Beginners should limit hard exercise even further; twice a week is sufficient.

Be patient with your body because building muscles is a process that will take some time. By sticking with your routine, you will see results in a short time. If you use the advice from this article, it will be easier to bulk up your muscles quickly.